Tuesday, January 31, 2012

What I'm Thankful For

Have you heard of Ann Voskamp’s book, A Thousand Gifts? I love the idea of it-
“learning how to live a life full of grace, thanksgiving and joy in the midst
of deadlines, debt, drama, and daily duties. What does a Christ-life really
look like when your days are gritty, long, and sometimes even dark?” When Ann asks this I feel like she is
speaking right to me.

I
haven’t read the book (yet) but something keeps bringing me back to it. I need to just go ahead and order it from
Amazon.

I often I get so caught up in the
daily grind that I miss the blessings that are right in front of me. Ignoring the small gifts that make me truly
happy and instead, searching for the big blessings. You know the ones that stop you in your
tracks, the ones that don’t come around very often. The ones you continually
pray for.

But what about the daily blessings
that are given to you without even asking?
What about the ones that are often overlooked because we are so busy
just keeping up.

For a while now it’s really been on my
heart to seek out these everyday blessings.
To make a conscious effort to be thankful for all I have and find joy in
it all. To overlook the struggles and
frustrations and see the opportunity.

When I started making a list
throughout the day of all the little things to be thankful for it amazed me how
quickly the list grew…

A warm bed and safe home

A reliable job that more than pays the
bills

My sweet husband who sends pictures of
our daughter in the morning because I leave for work before she’s up

A long and relaxing lunch break at
Panera

Knowing I am forgiven for all my sins.

Today I am thankful for an old friend
I went to high school with.We weren't ever close friends but we had a few classes together and she was always a kind,
friendly person.Through the magic of
social media or maybe the grace of God, this person, who I haven’t spoken to in
over ten years, sent me a message awhile back that spoke right to my heart.Encouraging words that I desperately needed
to hear and have thought of many times over the past few months. Advice that
fear is a form of faith and to reject the temptation to trust in what fear says
could happen.A reminder to enjoy the
gift of pregnancy and to trust in God’s plan.

1 comment:

I have a very good friend who owns two copies of the book so she can have one in her car and one at home. She loves it SO much. What a great thing to remember - to be thankful. Thank you for the reminder. I have been losing perspective so much lately.

About Me

I was born and raised near Boulder, Colorado and met my husband Matt while attending CSU. We were married the summer after graduation and spent two years living in Europe while Matt played professional basketball. We now live in a suburb of Fort Worth with our daughter, son, and our lab puppy. I am blessed to have amazing parents, a sister who is my best friend and many wonderful girlfriends. Life is good.